HEALTH REPORT - Cancer Survival Rates Up in U.S.

HEALTH REPORT - Cancer Survival¹ Rates Up in U.S.
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Wednesday, January 26, 2005

25 Jan 2005, 23:06 UTC

I'm Phoebe Zimmerman with the VOA Special English Health Report.

The American Cancer Society says the United States is making progress against several of its deadliest and most common cancers.

The group says death rates from colon², breast and prostate cancer continue to decrease. This is also true for lung cancer in men. Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death, but fewer Americans smoke these days.

In women, the death rate from lung cancer has stayed about the same for the first time. This is good news after years of increase.

Almost one-fourth of all deaths in the United States are from cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart disease³. Death rates for both diseases⁴ are falling. But researchers say the rate for heart disease is falling faster. As a result, an American Cancer Society report shows that cancer now kills more Americans under the age of eighty-five than any other cause.

Some cancers can be prevented or treated, especially if found early. Cancer is the name for a group of diseases. All involve the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells that are not normal. Cell growth and division⁵ are controlled by genes⁶. Some cancers are linked to family genetics. Pollution and chemicals can also raise a person's risk of cancer.

The report shows that in recent years, cancer rates in the United States have dropped about one percent per year. Lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer make up more than half of all the cases. For men, prostate cancer is the most common. For women, it is breast cancer. Rates of both have continued to increase, but more slowly than in the past.

Smoking causes about one-third of all cancer deaths. Poor diet and a lack of exercise are blamed for another third in the United States.

The American Cancer Society says cancer deaths worldwide could increase nearly one hundred percent in the next twenty years. Yet most could be avoided. The report calls tobacco use "the number one cause of cancer and the number one cause of preventable death throughout the world."

Hepatitis and other infections will cause an estimated⁷ seventeen percent of new cancers worldwide this year. Such cancers are especially common in developing countries, and many of these cases can also be prevented.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. I'm Phoebe Zimmerman.

1 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

2 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

5 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

6 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

7 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。